Systems and methods for making and using nanoelectrodes

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided for the manipulation of a polarizable object with a pair of elongated nanoelectrodes using dielectrophoresis. The nanoelectrodes can be carbon nanotubes and are coupled with one or more time-varying voltage sources to create an electric field gradient in a gap between the nanotubes. The gradient induces the movement of a polarizable object in proximity with the field. The nanotube pair can be used to trap a single polarizable object in the gap. A method of fabricating a nanoelectrode dielectrophoretic system is also provided. Applications extend to self-fabricating nanoelectronics, nanomachines, nanochemistry and nanobiochemistry. A nanoelectrode dielectrophoretic system having an extended nanoelectrode for use in applications including the self-fabrication of a nanowire, as well as methods for fabricating the same, are also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No.10/789,779 filed Feb. 27, 2004, and claims priority to provisionalapplication Ser. No. 60/450,985 filed Feb. 27, 2003, which applicationsare fully incorporated by reference herein.

This invention was made with Government support under Grant No.DAAD19-02-1-0387, awarded by the Army. The Government has certain rightsin this invention.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to systems and methods for making and usingnanoelectrodes for the manipulation of nano-scale polarizable objectsfor applications in molecular electronics, electronically assistedchemical self-assembly, nanomanufacturing, nano-biotechnology, and thelike.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a technique that employs time-varying, oralternating current (AC) electric fields to apply a force to polarizableobjects. The force relies on the difference in the polarizability of thesystem compared to its surrounding media (e.g. water) to manipulate notonly charged objects (such as DNA) but also electrically neutralobjects. In solution, particles are continually subject to thebombardment of surrounding molecules and undergo Brownian motion. Thisthermal motion exerts an effective random force on the particle, whosemaximum is roughly proportional to the inverse of its radius. For DEP tobe of use, the dielectrophoretic force must overcome the randomizingthermal motion acted upon the particle. Hence, electrodes as small aspossible should be fabricated to trap nano-scale objects such asnanoparticles and even single molecules. To date, however, DEP researchhas only been performed with lithographically created electrodes havingfeature sizes that limit the attainable electric field gradients.

A related major research area is the electrical measurement of singlemolecules. This is because single molecule electronic devices aredesired for use as the basis of next generation electronic informationsystems. There are two difficulties which have to be overcome in orderto enable charge transport on single molecules. The first is thedifficulty in preparing conducting electrodes separated by a distancewhich matches the length of the relevant molecule. This is becausemolecules of interest are usually beyond the resolution limit ofelectron beam lithography (˜20 nm). The second is the difficulty inelectrically contacting single molecules with sufficient conductivity.

A series of top-down approaches have been reported. (See, e.g., C.Dekker et al., “Nanofabrication of electrodes with sub-5 nm spacing fortransport experiments on single molecules and metal clusters,” J. Vac.Sci. Technol. B 15(4), 793 (1997) and M. A. Reed et al., “Large On-OffRatios and Negative Differential Resistance in a Molecular ElectronicsDevice,” Science, Vol. 286, 1550 (1999)). C. Dekker made a pair ofelectrodes by electron beam deposition of amorphous carbon in a scanningelectron microscope (SEM) chamber. Although a gap of approximately 4 nmwas reported, the width of the gap should be much larger than 4 nm.Similar drawbacks are associated with the work of M. Reed et al. (M. A.Reed et al., “Conduction of a Molecular Junction” Science Vol 278, 252(1997)). Although a gap distance within several nanometers was achieved,the width of the electrode pair was relatively large. Trapping andelectrically contacting single molecule requires not only a small gaplength but also a small gap width.

In addition to nanoelectrodes, nanowires are fundamental building blocksin nanotechnology. A key challenge in the application of these devicesin massively parallel integrated circuits lies in theirmanufacturability. In particular, preceding technologies have beenunable to control the spatial location of nanowires on a chip withnanometer resolution. Most manufacturing techniques consist of one oftwo approaches. In the first approach, catalyst sites arelithographically patterned and nanotubes, which are used as nanowires,are grown from these sites. While a significant first step, this methoddoes not achieve resolution on the placement of nanotubes beyond thelimits of lithography. Additionally, the direction in which thenanotubes grow is difficult to control. Another method consists ofgrowing nanowires in bulk, dispersing them in solution and allowing thesolution to evaporate on a solid surface. The nanowires are latercontacted by lithography. While appropriate for research applications,this technique results in nanowires at random locations on a chip.

Some new techniques have been proposed and demonstrated to overcome someof these limitations. One technique uses direct current (DC) and ACelectric fields to align the nanowires during or after growth. Thiscontrols their orientation and, to a lesser extent, their spatialposition. A second, more promising technique is to chemicallyfunctionalize the ends of the nanowires so they bind to metal electrodesalready in place. This controls their orientation, and position,although where the nanowires bind are limited by the spatial limit ofhow well the chemical groups can be attached to the electrodes.Additionally, there may be significant boundary resistance if thefunctional groups (e.g. COOH, NH₂ moieties) are not conducting.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides for, in part, a system for manipulating apolarizable object using dielectrophoresis. In a preferred embodiment,the system includes a first elongated nanoelectrode electrically coupledwith a first time-varying voltage source and a second elongatednanoelectrode electrically coupled with a second voltage source. Thevoltage sources are configured to generate a time-varying electric fieldbetween the two nanoelectrodes, which are positioned to allow thedielectrophoretic manipulation of a polarizable object within theelectric field. The nanoelectrodes each have a first and second end,where the first end of the first nanoelectrode is electrically coupledwith the first voltage source and the first end of the secondnanoelectrode is electrically coupled with the second voltage source.The nanoelectrodes are preferably positioned such that the first andsecond nanoelectrodes extend from the first end to the second end atleast partially towards each other, with the second end of the firstnanoelectrode being separated from the second end of the secondnanoelectrode by a gap.

A method of dielectrophoretically manipulating a polarizable object withelongated nanoelectrodes is also provided. One embodiment of this methodincludes positioning a polarizable object in proximity with a first anda second elongated nanoelectrode and then applying a time-varyingelectric field between the first and second nanoelectrodes. Here, thefield is sufficient to manipulate the polarizable object. In a preferredembodiment, the polarizable object is manipulated into a gap between thenanoelectrodes and trapped therein. This method can be used to trapnano-scale circuit devices to self-fabricate a nano-scale electroniccircuit. This method can also be used to trap organic and otherbiological and biologically related molecules for applications innanochemistry and nanobiotechnology.

The elongated nanoelectrodes are preferably carbon nanotubes coupledwith one or more time-varying voltage sources via a catalyst site.Numerous methods of fabricating a dielectrophoretic system are alsoprovided, including a method of depositing transition metals for acatalyst site using an aqueous solvent, as well as a method offabricating nanotubes on a double metal layer.

The systems and methods described herein allow the use of elongatednanoelectrodes, preferably carbon nanotubes, for the dielectrophoretictrapping of polarizable objects. The systems and methods can be used inthe dielectrophoretic assisted assembly of a nano-scale electricalcircuit, electronically assisted chemical reactions for biologicalapplications, lab-on-a-chip applications, nanochemistry,nanobiochemistry and the construction and operation of nanomachines.

The systems and methods described herein also provide for a nanotubedielectrophoretic system, which in one embodiment, has an elongatednanoelectrode coupled between a time-varying voltage source and a secondvoltage source. A time-varying electric field can be applied to thenanoelectrode to dielectrophoretically manipulate a polarizable objectin proximity with the nanoelectrode. The object can be trapped on thesurface of the nanoelectrode. The nanoelectrode can be either ohmicallyor capacitively coupled with the time-varying voltage source. In anotherembodiment, a plurality of polarizable objects are trapped on thesurface and substantially cover the nanoelectrode forming a nanowire.Preferably, the nanoelectrode is a carbon nanotube and the objects are agold nanoparticles. The systems and methods described herein alsoprovide for methods of fabricating a nanowire. Other objects andfeatures of the present invention will become apparent fromconsideration of the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1( a)-(b) depict exemplary embodiments of a nanoelectrodedielectrophoretic system.

FIGS. 2( a)-(d) provide a flow chart of one exemplary embodiment ofmaking carbon nanotube electrodes, where FIG. 2( a) depicts double metallayers patterned on substrate, FIG. 2( b) depicts carbon nanotubes grownby chemical vapor deposition, FIG. 2( c) depicts carbon nanotubesseparated by an AFM tip and FIG. 2( d) depicts dielectrophoresis usingcarbon nanotube electrodes.

FIG. 3( a) depicts a schematic view of one exemplary embodiment of amolecular electronics circuit with carbon nanotube electrodes.

FIG. 3( b) depicts one exemplary embodiment of a molecular circuitdevice for use in the molecular electronics circuit of FIG. 3( a).

FIGS. 4( a)-(c) provide schematic depictions of one exemplary embodimentof an electronically assisted chemical reaction, where FIG. 4( a)depicts a peptide nucleic acid backbone attached to a pair of carbonnanotube electrodes by dielectrophoresis assisted amide-based syntheticchemistry, FIG. 4( b) depicts a single stranded DNA complimentary to thepeptide nucleic acid brought to its vicinity by dielectrophoresis andFIG. 4( c) depicts DNA coupled to a PNA (peptide nucleic acid) backboneto give rise to DNA-PNA duplex.

FIG. 5 depicts one exemplary embodiment of a nanomotor.

FIGS. 6( a)-(b) depict another exemplary embodiment of a nanoelectrodedielectrophoretic system.

FIG. 7( a) is a SEM image of carbon nanotubes located between twoelectrodes.

FIG. 7( b) is a SEM image of the carbon nanotubes of FIG. 7( a)substantially covered with gold nanoparticles to form a nanowire.

FIG. 8 is a SEM image of a carbon nanotube with polystyrenenanoparticles of varying diameter trapped thereon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides systems and methods for making and usingnanoelectrodes for the dielectrophoretic manipulation of polarizableobjects. FIG. 1( a) depicts a nanoelectrode dielectrophoretic system100, which is a preferred embodiment of the systems and methodsdescribed herein. The system 100 includes first and second elongatednanoelectrodes 101 and 102, which are electrically coupled with a firsttime-varying voltage source 103 and a second voltage source 104,respectively.

During operation, the voltage sources 103 and 104 apply a time-varyingelectric potential to the nanotubes 101 and 102 to create a time-varyingelectric field 110 between the two nanotubes 101 and 102. This electricfield 110 induces a dipole moment on a polarizable object 105, whichthen, in the presence of a field gradient, experiences adielectrophoretic force 111 that is sufficient to overcome the thermalBrownian motion and cause the object 105 to move. Preferably, the object105 is moved into the gap region 112 between the nanoelectrodes 101 and102 and trapped therein. In this manner, the system 100 allows thedielectrophoretic manipulation and trapping of a polarizable object 105.

Here, the nanoelectrode 101 is electrically coupled with the voltagesource 103 at a first end 106. The elongated nanoelectrode 101 canextend along a center axis 116 to a second end 107. Similarly, theelongated nanoelectrode 102 is electrically coupled with the voltagesource 104 at first end 108 and can extend along the same center axis116 to second end 109. Ends 107 and 109 are separated by a gap 112 inwhich the object 105 can be trapped. The length of the gap 112 can bechosen according to the needs of the particular application, but ispreferably at least approximately one nanometer (nm).

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1( a), the second voltage source 104is ground. However, any DC or AC voltage source can be used, so long asan electric field gradient is created. Preferably, the nanoelectrodes101 and 102 are cylindrically shaped, in the form of a rod, a tube orthe like, to better allow for the creation of field 110. Each of thenanoelectrodes 101 and 102 can either be ohmically (DC) or capacitivelycoupled with the voltage sources. To capacitively couple a nanoelectrode101 or 102 with the respective source, the nanoelectrode is preferablyplaced in proximity with a parallel plate connected with the voltagesource. At Gigahertz frequencies, this capacitance can behave as ashort-circuit, allowing efficient (e.g., low-impedance) contact betweenthe voltage source 103 or 104 and the nanotube 101 or 102. For a GHzresonant frequency to be achieved, the length of the capacitivelycoupled nanoelectrode 101 or 102 is preferably on the order of 100micrometers (μm). Capacitive coupling also facilitates the fabricationprocess because the capacitively coupled nanoelectrode 101 or 102 doesnot require a physical electrical contact with the voltage source 103 or104.

The system 100 is placed in a surrounding medium 114 (e.g., water),which can effect the force 111 exhibited on object 105. As mentionedabove, the object 105 is polarizable, meaning it can be either initiallypolarized or electrically neutral, so long as it is capable ofpolarization to create the dipole moment. Taking into account thepolarizability of the medium 114 and the object 105 together, if theobject 105 has a greater polarizability than the surrounding medium 114,then the force 111 pushes the object 105 towards the high fieldintensity region. This is referred to as positive DEP. Negative DEP isexhibited when the medium 114 has a greater polarizability than theobject 105, in which case the force 111 pushes the object 105 towardsthe low field intensity region. In addition, the polarizability of themedium 114 and the object 105 can be frequency dependent, allowing bothpositive and negative DEP to be achieved by varying the frequency of thefield 110, allowing object 105 to be selectively attracted or repelled.This and other effects relating to DEP are discussed in P. J. Burke,Nanodielectrophoresis: Electronic Nanotweezers, published inEncyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Volume X, pp. 1-19(2003), which is fully incorporated by reference herein as if set out inits entirety.

In order to overcome the thermal Brownian force, a large electric field110 gradient is needed. The use of a nanoelectrodes 101 and 102 allowsthe creation of a large field 110, based in part on both the smallradius of curvature of the nanoelectrodes and the elongated structure.In FIG. 1( a), the gradients of the electric field 110 are substantiallyequivalent to a geometry where a nanoelectrode 101 or 102 is in closeproximity to a large conducting plane. Upon application of a reasonabletime-varying voltage (e.g., 1 Volt), the resulting gradient of field 110in the nano-scale is sufficient to manipulate and trap nano-scaleobjects 105, such as single molecules. In one embodiment, a molecule 105is trapped from a vapor phase, which can be at atmospheric pressure, andused for applications in chemical sensing of large molecules. This isdiscussed in L. Zheng et al., Towards Single Molecule Manipulation withDielectrophoresis Using Nanoelectrodes, published in Proceeding of theThird IEEE Conference on Nanotechnology (IEEE-NANO 2003), Volume 2, pp.437-440 (2003), which is fully incorporated by reference herein as ifset out in its entirety. Also, the term nano-scale, as used herein, isdefined broadly as covering at least sizes of the object 105 rangingfrom 0.1 nm to 1 μm in size, or any polarizable object 105 that can bedielectrophoretically manipulated by system 100, regardless of size.

The nanoelectrodes 101 and 102 are preferably carbon nanotubes, becausethe diameter of a single-walled carbon nanotube is approximately 1 nmand allows the creation of a very large electric field gradient for agiven applied voltage. This can enable very small objects 105 to bedielectrophoretically manipulated, regardless of the charge neutrality,down to approximately 1 nm in size. This can also allow the creation ofnanotube junctions, such as that depicted in FIG. 1( b). Here, thecarbon nanotube 101 includes a Y-junction 122, which branches into athird end 119. The branch of the Y-junction 122 can occur at variousangles. The third end 119 can be coupled with another circuit 120 asdesired, or it can be used to dielectrophoretically manipulate anotherobject 105 (not shown). In the following discussion, the nanoelectrodes101 and 102 are referred to as carbon nanotubes, however, it should benoted that any composition and structure of elongated nanoelectrode canbe used, including other forms of nanotubes, nanowires and the like.Furthermore, the carbon nanotubes described herein can be eithersingle-walled or multi-walled as desired in the application.

The systems and methods described herein also provide for numerousmethods of fabricating the nanoelectrode dielectrophoretic system 100.FIGS. 2( a)-2(d) depict one exemplary embodiment of a method forfabricating system 100. FIG. 2( a) depicts a first metal layer 204 and asecond metal layer 206 deposited on a substrate 202, with a well 208patterned through the two metal layers 204 and 206. The substrate can bea quartz wafer, silicon wafer and the like. Preferably, an insulatinglayer (not shown) is deposited between the substrate 202 and the metallayers 204 and 206. The deposition and patterning of these layers can beaccomplished with a wide variety of processes, such as photolithography,electron beam lithography and the like. The upper metal layer 206functions mainly as an active catalyst layer and can be composed of iron(Fe), nickel (Ni), or cobalt (Co) and the like. The upper metal layer206 can also be deposited as a thin film alloy. The upper metal layer206 is used for carbon nanotube growth. The diameter of the carbonnanotube can be adjusted by controlling the thickness of the layer 206.The lower metal layer 204 functions mainly as a supportive layer, andcan be composed of a conductive metal having a high melting temperature,e.g. molybdenum (Mo) and the like, which is preferred for providing goodelectrical contact to the carbon nanotube.

FIG. 2( b) depicts a continuous carbon nanotube 210 grown from a carbonsource (including but not limited to methane, ethylene, acetylene or amixture thereof) using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Although carbonnanotubes can be produced via a variety of methods such as arc dischargeand laser ablation, CVD is a well known as an approach to produce highquality carbon nanotubes with minimum defects and a low contactresistance. The quantum limit of contact resistance was observed oncarbon nanotubes grown on oxide nanoparticles in Kong et al, “QuantumInterference and Ballistic Transmission in Nanotube ElectronWaveguides,” Physical Review Letters, Vol. 87, No. 10, 106801, which isfully incorporated by reference herein as if set out in its entirety.The two metal layers 204 and 206 provide improved electrical contactover insulating oxides. By adjusting the CVD growth conditions such astemperature, gas composition, flow rate, and metal thin film thickness,it is possible to gain high quality electrically contacted carbonnanotubes.

FIG. 2( c) depicts the continuous carbon nanotube 210 after beingseparated to form first and second nanotubes 101 and 102. The continuouscarbon nanotube 210 is preferably separated by cutting through theentire nanotube 210 with an atomic force microscope (AFM) or a highresolution electron beam in order to provide an accurately controllednanometer scale gap 112. The location of the gap 112, as well as thelength of the gap 112 can be controlled during cutting. The separationof carbon nanotubes is discussed in detail in H. W. Ch. Postma et al,“Manipulation and imaging of individual single-walled carbon nanotubeswith an atomic force microscope,” Advanced Materials 17, 1299 (2000),which is fully incorporated by reference herein as if set out in itsentirety. Because both mechanical cutting and thermal cutting introducelocal defects, strong acids-(including, but not limited to, heated HNO₃,H₂SO₄ and HCl and mixtures thereof) can be used to remove a controlledgap 112 in the nanotube 210 and produce carboxyl end-groups, which canthen serve as the starting point for a series of organic and biologicalchemistry reactions.

It should be noted that the carbon nanotubes 101 and 102 can also befabricated individually. For instance, the nanotubes 101 and 102 caneach be grown from a catalyst site in an axial direction at leastpartially towards the other, but preferably parallel to each other andopposing each other along a common central axis 116 as depicted in FIGS.1( a) and 1(b). This eliminates the need to separate a single nanotubeto form a conjugate pair. Because separating a single nanotube into aconjugate pair will frequently result in nanotubes aligned alongsubstantially the same axis, the fabrication of separate nanotubesallows increased flexibility in placement. For instance, the carbonnanotubes 101 and 102 can be placed at various angles to each other andin asymmetrical configurations, if desired.

FIG. 2( d) depicts the system 100 in medium 114, with carbon nanotube101 ohmically coupled with AC voltage source 103 and the carbon nanotube102 ohmically coupled with voltage source 104, which in this case isground. Here, an AC voltage is applied to the two carbon nanotubeelectrodes 101 and 102. The dielectrophoretic force generated by thecarbon nanotube electrodes 101 and 102 is shown trapping an object 105within gap 112.

The systems and methods described herein also provide for another methodof fabricating carbon nanotubes. This aqueous catalyst method isdirected towards a more efficient manner of fabricating the catalystsite from which the carbon nanotubes are grown using conventionalphotolithography. A typical method requires mixing alumina nanoparticleswith transition metals in methanol and then spinning this mixture onto awafer with pre-patterned polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) wells. However,methanol cannot be spun onto wells patterned into photoresist becausethe methanol dissolves the photoresist. Thus, the typical method hasdisadvantages in that it requires either electron beam or deep-UVlithography to directly pattern the PMMA wells, or alternatively, thetypical method disadvantageously requires a multi-step process involvingboth PMMA and photoresist. The aqueous catalyst method described hereinis a simplified method of depositing transition metal catalysts using anaqueous solvent for the nanoparticle and transition metal catalystmixture. This aqueous method eliminates the disadvantages relating tothe typical method set forth above.

In one exemplary embodiment of the aqueous catalyst method, conventionalphotolithography is used to fabricate wells directly into photoresist.Then, a mixture of alumina nanoparticles and Fe(NO₃)₃.9H₂) andMoO₂(acac)₂ are added to deionized water in sequence while violentlystirring. Since the Fe(NO₃)₃ is soluble in water, spinning this solutiondirectly onto the wafer would undesirably remove most of the Fe. Toavoid this, ammonia can be added to the mixture in concentrate, whichcauses the formation of Fe(OH)₃ as a precipitant. The mixture is thenstirred and sonified to create a suspension of Fe₂O₃, MoO₃, alumina andwater. A small amount of the suspension is deposited on the wafer, whichis then spun and baked. Then, lift-off of the photoresist in acetoneprovides the catalyst pattern ready to carry out CVD to form the carbonnanotubes. This process is described in greater detail in S. Li et al.,“Carbon Nanotube Growth for GHz Devices,” published in Proceeding of theThird IEEE Conference on Nanotechnology (IEEE-NANO 2003) Volume 2, pp.256-258 (2003), which is fully incorporated by reference as if set outin its entirety.

FIG. 3( a) depicts nano-scale electronic system 300, which is oneexemplary embodiment of the systems and methods described herein. Here,dielectrophoretic manipulation is used to self-fabricate a functionalelectronic circuit. More specifically, FIG. 3( a) depicts a nano-scalecircuit device 302 after it has been dielectrophoretically trappedbetween nanoelectrodes 101 and 102. The nano-scale circuit device 302preferably bonds with and becomes electrically connected to eachnanotube 101 and 102 after becoming trapped. This is because trappingand electrically contacting the nano-scale circuit device 302 can be aself-terminating process. Once the nano-scale circuit device 302 iselectrically contacted, the electric field 110 will experience an abruptdecrease so that trapping of additional nano-scale circuit devices 302is prevented.

The nano-scale circuit device 302 can be any polarizable circuit devicecapable of bonding with nanoelectrodes 101 and 102. In one preferredembodiment, nano-scale circuit device 302 is a molecular transistor,such as 2′-amino-4′-ethynylphenyl-5′-nitro-1-benzenethiolate (AEENBT)and the like. A schematic representation of the AEENBT molecule 302 isdepicted in FIG. 3( b). The production of a random access memory cellusing refined electron beam lithography from AEENBT is described indetail in M. Reed et al., “Molecular random access memory cell,” AppliedPhysics Letters, Vol. 78, 3735 (2001), which is fully incorporated byreference herein as if set out in its entirety. The structure of circuitdevice 302 can be chosen to provide any type of passive or activeelectrical function. Accordingly, circuit device 302 is not limited tomolecular transistors, and can include other forms of transistors,capacitors, inductors, short circuit elements (e.g., wires), resistorsand any other polarizable electrical element that can bedielectrophoretically manipulated into connection between nanoelectrodes101 and 102.

To adequately trap an AEENBT molecule, the carbon nanotubes 101 and 102preferably have a diameter of approximately 1-2 nm and the gap 112 ispreferably approximately 2 nm in length. After trapping the circuitdevice 302, the carbon nanotube electrodes 101 and 102 can act asinterconnects to other circuit electronics and link numerous nano-scalecircuit devices together into a larger integrated circuit. The physicalcomposition of the carbon nanotubes 101 and 102 also provides anincreased likelihood in making an electrical contact with a singleAEENBT molecule.

The use of nanoelectrodes 101 and 102 can also allow rapid investigationof many embodiments of a nano-scale electronic system 300 in a massivelyparallel fashion. With numerous dielectrophoretic systems 300 positionedover a single substrate, different types of circuit devices 302 andconfigurations of system 300 can be experimented with. For instance, thelength of the gaps 112, the applied time-varying voltage and themolecular structure of device 302 can all be varied to arrive at themost optimal combinations.

Another advantage of attaching molecules with carbon nanotubes is thebetter contact quality between carbon and other nonmetal atoms. Mostmolecule/metal junctions are poor circuit elements. The resistance isusually of the order of mega ohm (MΩ), which is not a preferable ohmiccontact. One of the reasons for this is the difference inelectro-negativity between metals and nonmetals. For example, in aS—Au(Ag) junction, an interfacial dipole leads to a Schottky barrier inthat sulfur is more electronegative than metals. Carbon, a typicalnonmetal, can more adequately provide electrical contact to organicmolecules.

The systems and methods described herein can also be used to implementelectronically assisted chemical reactions for biological applications.Biomolecules, such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), peptide nucleic acid(PNA) and the like, can be linked to carbon nanotubes throughnoncovalent interaction and also bonded covalently to the carbonnanotubes through chemical reaction. To facilitate covalent bonding,ends 107 and 109 can be oxidized to into carboxyl groups. This processis discussed in greater detail in C. Lieber et al., “Covalentlyfunctionalized nanotubes as nanometer-sized probes in chemistry andbiology,” Nature, Vol. 394, 52 (1998), which is fully incorporated byreference herein as if set out in its entirety. A variety of reactionscan be used to covalently bond biomolecules with the carboxyl groups atends 107 and 109 to produce a wide range of biomolecule-carbon nanotubecompounds. This process is discussed in greater detail in S. E. Baker etal., “Covalently Bonded Adducts of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)Oligonucleotides with Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes: Synthesis andHybridization,” Nano Letters, Vol. 2, 1413 (2002) and K. A. Williams etal., “Carbon Nanotubes with DNA recognition,” Nature, Vol. 420, 761,both of which are fully incorporated by reference herein as if set outin their entirety.

Although these references describe biomolecule-carbon nanotube compoundsrandomly dispersed in solution, the systems and methods described hereinallow biomolecule-carbon nanotube compounds to be directly fabricated ina dielectrophoretically controlled manner. FIGS. 4( a)-4(c) depict anexemplary embodiment of an electronically assisted chemical reaction. InFIG. 4( a), a PNA backbone 402 is coupled with a pair of carbon nanotubeelectrodes 101 and 102 by dielectrophoresis assisted amide-basedsynthetic chemistry. In this exemplary embodiment, the repeated unit 404is N-(2-aminoethyl) glycine and X can be any of the four naturalnucleobases (i.e., adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine) Nucleobasesare equally spaced on the PNA 402 adduct as are those for DNA.

In FIG. 4( b), a single stranded DNA 406 complimentary to the PNA 402 isbrought into proximity with the PNA 402 by dielectrophoresis. Y can beany of the four natural nucleobases (i.e., adenine, cytosine, guanine,and thymine). In FIG. 4( c), the DNA strand 406 is bonded with PNA 402to give rise to a DNA-PNA duplex 408. This method is highly selectiveand can be used in various applications, including, but not limited tooligonucleotide recognition elements in biosensor technologies. Themethod described herein, one embodiment of which is depicted in FIGS. 4(a)-(c), facilitates the formation of a lab-on-a-chip and molecularelectronic devices, and facilitates electronically assisted chemicalassembly, biological sensing and gene recognition.

Referring now to applications in nanomachinery, FIG. 5 depicts anexemplary embodiment of a nanomotor system 500. The nanomotor system 500includes three or more carbon nanotubes positioned radially around acommon center region 516, in which is located a polarizable object 510.An electric field gradient is created between each of the nanotubes suchthat the object 510 is manipulated. The manipulation of the object 510then creates an electrical or physical secondary effect, which can beharnessed and utilized in the desired application.

In the preferred embodiment depicted in FIG. 5, the nanomotor system 500includes carbon nanotubes 502, 504, 506, and 508, each having ends 520,522, 524 and 526 electrically coupled with voltage sources 503, 505, 507and 509, respectively. The nanotubes 502-508, are arranged radially suchthat each extends at least partially towards each other and a commoncenter region 516. The nanotubes 502, 504, 506, and 508 also each have asecond end 521, 523, 525 and 527, respectively, spaced apart anddefining common region 516. Here, the nanotubes 502-508 act as stators.Nanotubes 502 and 506 are preferably positioned substantially along thesame first center axis, while nanotubes 504 and 508 are positionedsubstantially along the same second center axis, which is placedtransverse to the first center axis.

The polarizable object 510 is preferably suspended in medium 114 andlocated in the common center region 510. In this embodiment, polarizableobject 510 is configured to rotate and function as the rotor. Rotor 510includes a base 511 connected with a rod 512, which transfers therotational force for use by a secondary object (not shown). A rotationalforce in the direction 514 is created by a field gradient successivelycreated between each of the nanotubes 502-508. For instance,time-varying voltage source 503 can be an AC voltage source operatingwith a phase of zero degrees. If each time-varying voltage source 505,507 and 509 is an AC voltage source having a phase that successivelylags the preceding voltage source in direction 514, then a rotationalforce will be created in direction 514. For instance, in a preferredembodiment, voltage sources 505, 507 and 509 have phases of 90, 180 and270 degrees, respectively. One of skill in the art will recognize thatthere are numerous combinations of phase, amplitude and frequency whichwill induce rotational motion in rotor 510, along with variations in thenumber of nanotubes used as well as their placement. Accordingly, thenanomotor system 500 is not limited to solely the embodiment depicted inFIG. 5, nor the example phase values described above.

The systems and methods described herein can also find use innanochemistry applications. The force required to break a singlechemical bond is roughly one nanoNewton, which is the same order ofmagnitude as the force generated by dielectrophoretic system 100 on thepolarizable object 105. Thus, system 100 can be used in controlling thebreaking of a single chemical bond in nanochemistry processes.

FIG. 6( a) depicts an exemplary embodiment of a single nanoelectrodesystem 600, where one elongated nanoelectrode 601 is electricallycoupled between two voltage sources 604 and 606. The nanoelectrode 601can be cylindrically shaped in the form of a rod, a tube or the like,and is preferably a single-walled carbon nanotube, but the systems andmethods described herein are not limited to such. As can be seen here,one end 602 of the nanoelectrode 601 is coupled with time-varyingvoltage source 604 and another end 603 is coupled with a second voltagesource 606, which is preferably ground. Similar to the system 100, atime-varying (AC) electric field 610 is generated around thenanoelectrode 601 by the voltage sources 604 and 606 in order todielectrophoretically manipulate a polarizable object 605 in proximitywith the nanoelectrode 601.

This electric field 610 induces an (AC) dipole moment in the polarizableobject 605. In the presence of an electric field gradient, there is aforce on the dipole proportional to ({right arrow over (p)}·{right arrowover (∇)}){right arrow over (E)}, where {right arrow over (p)} is thedipole moment, and {right arrow over (E)} the electric field 610. Since{right arrow over (p)}∝{right arrow over (E)}, the force is proportionalto ({right arrow over (E)}·{right arrow over (∇)}){right arrow over(E)}∝{right arrow over (∇)}({right arrow over (E)}²). There is a thus anet DC force 611 in the direction of the higher intensity field. For thecylindrical geometry of the carbon nanotube 601, this force 611 istowards the surface of the nanotube 601. Thus, upon the application ofan AC voltage, a polarizable object 605 is dielectrophoretically trappedat the surface of the nanotube 601.

The single nanoelectrode system 600 can be used to dielectrophoreticallytrap numerous polarizable objects 605 along the length of thenanoelectrode 601 to form a nanowire. FIG. 6( b) depicts one exemplaryembodiment of where gold (Au) nanoparticles 605 are trapped along thesurface of the carbon nanotube 601 in order to form a nanowire 620. Thenanowire 620 is substantially covered with nanoparticles 605 such thatit exhibits increased conductivity over the nanotube 601, which in turnallows for the design and creation of more efficient integratedcircuits. Preferably, Au nanoparticles 605 with a diameter ofapproximately 2 nm are used to form the nanowire 620. However, the sizeand composition of the polarizable object 605 can be varied as desiredand according to the needs of the application.

The systems and methods described herein also provide for electronicallycontrollable methods of fabricating the nanowire 620 using the carbonnanotube 601. These methods allow for the self-fabrication of thenanowires 620 that are ohmically connected with the voltage sources 604and 606 as well as fabrication of the nanowires 620 that are onlycapacitively coupled with the sources 604 and 606. These methods can beused with various compositions and sizes of polarizable objects 605, aswell as virtually any geometry of the nanotube 601, including straight,curved, kinked and transverse crossing orientations. These methodscontrol with nanometer resolution where a nanowire 620 is fabricated,and can maintain the nanowire 620 in electrical ohmic contact withexternal electrodes immediately following fabrication with nopost-growth processing needed. These methods are robust, reproducible,and relatively simple. When combined with a nanotube 601 locatedspecifically on a chip using chemically functionalized end groups, suchas a carboxyl group and the like, these methods are useful for massivelyparallel fabrication of low-resistance nanowires 620.

In one exemplary embodiment of a method of fabricating the nanowire 620,a carbon nanotube 601 is grown from lithographically patternednanoparticle catalyst sites using CVD on an oxidized silicon wafer. ASEM was used to locate the nanotube 601 before the electrical contact,and the catalyst pattern was used to align electrical contacts to thenanotube 601. Electrical contact was performed with evaporated Titanium(Ti) (20 nm)/Au (200 nm) electrodes using optical lithography. Thesingle-walled nanotubes 601 grown under similar conditions generallyhave a diameter less than 1.5 nm as measured with an AFM. FIG. 7( a) isan SEM image of experimental examples of electrically contactednanotubes 601 before the nanowire fabrication. For the nanowire 601shown in FIG. 7( a), the resistance between electrodes due to thenanotubes 601 was approximately 5 MΩ.

Next, nanoparticles 605, which are preferably gold, are trapped on thesurface of the nanotube 601 to form the nanowire 620. A colloidalsolution, which in this embodiment is a 6 microliter aliquot containing2 nm Au nanoparticles 605 dispersed in DI water, can be placed onto achip containing the nanotubes 601. An AC voltage (square wave) of 2.5 Vat 1 MHz can be applied to the electrodes which are already inelectrical contact with the nanotubes 601 in order todielectrophoretically trap the nanoparticles 605. The solution isallowed to dry while the AC voltage is left on. FIG. 7( b) is an SEMimage of the completed nanowires 620 after the solution has dried.

The nanotube 601 does not need to be in electrical contact with theelectrodes in order for the fabrication method to function. If the ananotube is capacitively coupled with, i.e., close to, the Au electrodesbut not in contact the Au nanowire 620 still grows on the nanotube 601.This is most likely due to the fact that the nanotube 601 significantlybends stray AC electric field lines 610 in its vicinity and thisnon-uniform AC electric field 610 is strong enough to trap thenanoparticles 605. The curves at room temperature of the nanowires 620shown in FIG. 7( b) is linear to 5 volts, with a resistance of 780 kiloΩ. This is a conductance about ten times higher than without the Aunanowire 620 growth.

In another embodiment, this resistance is decreased by altering thesurface chemistry of the objects 105. In the previous embodiment, DIwater was used as the solvent, and no special functionalization of theAu nanoparticles 605 was performed. Increased conductivity can becreated through careful chemical treatment of the nanoparticles beforethe self-assembly process is initiated. For instance, the negativedifferential resistance can be achievable using 100 nm Au particlesfunctionalized with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). These fabricationmethods have broad applicability. These methods also enable the use ofother moderately conducting nanostructures, for example biologicalnanostructures such as DNA and proteins. Furthermore, since manyself-assembled nanostructures have limited capacity to conductelectricity, these methods are useful for transforming suchnanostructures from poor to excellent conductors. These systems andmethods are discussed further in L. Zheng et al., “Self-Assembled GoldNanowires from Nanoparticles,” submitted for publication in AppliedPhysics Letters in 2004, which is incorporated by reference herein as ifset out in its entirety.

FIG. 8 depicts an SEM image of a carbon nanotube 601 (not visible) withpolystyrene (Latex) nanoparticles 605 trapped thereon. These polystyrenenanoparticles 605 were trapped using the same nanowire 620 fabricationmethods described above, with the exception that in this exemplaryembodiment, a colloidal solution having approximately 10⁹ polystyrenenanoparticles 605 per milliliter was dropped onto a quartz chip. Whilethis embodiment may not be the most preferable for the fabrication ofhighly conductive nanowires 620, it serves to further demonstrate thebroad applicability of the systems and methods described herein.Dielectrophoretic manipulation of nanoparticles, such as polystyrenenanoparticles is discussed further in L. Zheng et al., “ManipulatingNanoparticles in Solution with Electrically Contacted Nanotubes UsingDielectrophoresis,” submitted for publication in Journal Langmuir in2004, which is incorporated by reference herein as if set out in itsentirety.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, a specific example thereof has been shown in thedrawings and is herein described in detail. It should be understood,however, that the invention is not to be limited to the particular formdisclosed, but to the contrary, the invention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spiritof the disclosure.

1. A system for manipulating a polarizable object usingdielectrophoresis, comprising: a first elongated cylindrically shapednanoelectrode comprising at least one nanotube electrically coupled witha first time-varying voltage source; and a second elongatednanoelectrode electrically coupled with a second voltage source, whereinthe first and second voltage sources are configured to generate atime-varying electric field between the two nanoelectrodes, and whereinthe nanoelectrodes are positioned to allow the dielectrophoreticmanipulation of a polarizable object within the electric field.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the nanoelectrodes each have a first andsecond end, the first end of the first nanoelectrode being electricallycoupled with the first voltage source and the first end of the secondnanoelectrode being electrically coupled with the second voltage source.3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first and second nanoelectrodesare positioned such that the first and second nanoelectrodes extend fromthe first end to the second end at least partially towards each other,and wherein the second end of the first nanoelectrode is separated fromthe second end of the second nanoelectrode by a first gap.
 4. The systemof claim 3, wherein each nanoelectrode is aligned along substantiallythe same center axis.
 5. The system of claim 3, wherein the gap isapproximately one nanometer or greater.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein the nanotube is a carbon nanotube.
 7. The system of claim 6,wherein the carbon nanotube is single-walled.
 8. The system of claim 6,wherein the carbon nanotube is multi-walled.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein at least one nanoelectrode is capacitively coupled with therespective voltage source.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein at leastone nanoelectrode is electrically coupled with the respective voltagesource at a metal electrode.
 11. The system of claim 3, furthercomprising: a third nanoelectrode having a first and a second end, thefirst end electrically coupled with a third voltage source; and a fourthnanoelectrode having a first and a second end, the first endelectrically coupled with a fourth voltage source, wherein the second,third and fourth voltage sources are time-varying and wherein each ofthe nanoelectrodes are arranged radially such that each nanoelectrodeextends from the first end to the second end at least partially towardsthe other nanoelectrodes, the second end of the each of thenanoelectrodes being spaced apart from the others to define a commoncenter region.
 12. The system of claim 13, wherein the first and secondnanoelectrodes are aligned along substantially the same first centeraxis and wherein the third and fourth nanoelectrodes are aligned alongsubstantially the same second center axis transverse to the first centeraxis.
 13. The system of claim 13, wherein a polarizable object islocated in the common center region.
 14. The system of claim 15, whereinthe polarizable object is configured to function as a rotor.
 15. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein each voltage source is configured to operateat a separate phase to rotate the rotor in a radial direction within thecommon center region, the phase of each voltage source successivelylagging the preceding source in the radial direction.
 16. The system ofclaim 3, wherein the polarizable object is a molecular transistorcoupled between the second end of the first nanoelectrode and the secondend of the second nanoelectrode.
 17. The system of claim 1, wherein thenanoelectrodes and polarized object are suspended in a solution.
 18. Amethod of dielectrophoretically manipulating a polarizable object withelongated nanoelectrodes, comprising: positioning a polarizable objectin proximity with a first and a second elongated nanoelectrode, whereinsaid first elongated nanoelectrode is cylindrically shaped and comprisesat least one nanotube; and applying a time-varying electric fieldbetween the first and second nanoelectrodes, the field being sufficientto manipulate the polarizable object.
 19. The method of claim 18,further comprising manipulating the polarizable object into a gapbetween the first and second nanoelectrodes.
 20. The method of claim 19,further comprising trapping the object between the nanoelectrodes.